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Monthly Archives: January 2011

The geese have erupted into their usual flapping and screeching over reports that yet another study shows (supposedly) that using sail fawns while driving contributes to distracted driving – and accidents. But as much as I hate sail fawns and the constant needless gabbling at all times and in all places, they aren’t the real…

Americans’ love affair with the car may be headed for divorce court, according to a survey done by the Pew Research Center. It found that the number of people who still enjoy just going for a drive has dropped from eight out of ten back in 1990 to just under seven out of ten today.…

Oldsmobile had a long and distinguished history – and suffered a slow, painful death. The process of mortification began in the early 1980s, when General Motors gutted the formerly independent engineering departments of each of its seven car divisions. Management eliminated the Buick, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile-built engines that had made each of these divisions’ cars…

Is Detroit responsible for making sure you don’t back-up over your child? What if you don’t have a child? Better yet, what if you know to drive? Well, it doesn’t matter. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is demanding that all new cars be fitted with back-up cameras by 2014 so as to add another…

The smart athlete retires gracefully, at his peak – before he starts to slip and give off that “has-been” stink. To their credit, that’s what Chevrolet managers did when they discontinued the Z28 version of the popular Camaro sport coupe after the 1974 model year. True high-performance engines such as the 1970–1971 Z28’s solid lifter-equipped…

Most states now have mandatory”buckle up” seat belt laws. But – strangely, when you think about it – no state requires that a motorcyclist wear more than a helmet. So, on the one hand, you can’t legally ride around unbuckled inside an air bag-equipped 4,000 lb. steel cocoon. But you can legally ride a 170 mph sport bike wearing…

Leasing a vehicle is a lot like renting an apartment. You pay a monthly fee to use it – but you don’t own it and aren’t making payments toward ownership. You have no equity stake in the deal. A leased vehicle remains the property of the lessor – the company that issued the lease. As…

Everyone (well, almost everyone) likes the Mini Cooper – the reincarnated, updated version of the micro-car Brit car of the 1960s. The problem has been that not everyone can use the Mini – which up to now came with just two doors and room for two only (or at least, realistically). So for 2011, the…

The death rattle of American Motors Corp. came in the early 1980s, with the “alliance” between the tubercular American automaker and French automaker Renault. Renault, a big player in Europe, hoped to gain access to AMC’s U.S. dealer network; AMC for its part simply needed cash — fast. There was no money on hand to…

Maybe this bugs you, too? There’s a “school zone” ahead and – clearly, obviously – there are no kids about. But the DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! flashing lights are on anyhow – probably because they’re on autopilot and set to go off at a certain time each day even if school is closed or it’s…